Pomerelia
as a part of Royal Prussia (1466–1793)

During the Thirteen Years' War, in February
1454, the Prussian Confederation of cities
and gentry trying to secede from the Teutonic Knights' monastic
state, asked the Polish king for support against the Teutonic Order's rule and for incorporation
of Prussia
into the Polish kingdom. The war ended in October 1466 with the Second Peace of Thorn, which provided for
the Order's cession to the Polish Crown of its rights over the
western half of Prussia, including Pomerelia and the districts of
Elbing, Marienburg (Malbork), and Kulm (Chełmno).

Royal Prussia
enjoyed substantial autonomy in its affiliation to the Crown of
Poland - it had its own Diet, treasury and monetary unit and
armies. It was governed by a council, subordinate to the Polish
king, whose members were chosen from local lords and wealthy
citizens. Prussians had also seats provided for them in Polish
Diet, but they chose not to use this right until the Union of
Lublin.

Protestant Reformation
(1534)

The Protestant Reformation reached
Pomerania in the early 16th century. Bogislaw X of the Duchy of
Pomerania in 1518 sent his son, Barnim IX, to study in Wittenberg. In 1521, he
personally attended a mass of Martin Luther in Wittenberg, and also of
other reformed preachers in the following years. Also in 1521, Johannes
Bugenhagen, the most important person in the following
conversion of Pomerania to Protestantism, left Belbuck Abbey to
study in Wittenberg, close to Luther. In Belbuck, a circle had
formed before, comprising not only Bugenhagen, but also Johann
Boldewan, Christian Ketelhut, Andreas Knöpke and Johannes Kureke.
These persons, and also Johannes Knipstro, Paul vom Rode, Peter
Suawe, Jacob Hogensee and Johann Amandus spread the Protestant idea
all over Pomerania. At several occasions, this went along with
public outrage, plunder and arson directed against the church.[5
][14
]

The dukes' role in the reformation process was ambitious.
Bogislaw X , despite his sympathies, forbade Protestant preaching
and tumults shortly before his death. Of his sons, Georg I opposed,
and Barnim IX supported Protestantism as did Georg's son, Phillip
I. In 1531, Georg died, and a Landtag in Stettin formally allowed Protestant
preaching, if no tumults would arise from this. On December 13,
1534, a Landtag was assembled in Treptow and der Rega, where the
dukes and the nobility against the vote of Cammin bishop Erasmus
von Manteuffel officially introduced Protestantism to Pomerania.
Bugenhagen in the following month drafted the new church order.[3][5
][15]

Partitions of 1532 and 1569: Pomerania-Stettin and
Pomerania-Wolgast

After Bogislaw X's death, his sons initially ruled in common.
Yet, after Georg's death, the duchy was partitioned again between
Barnim IX, who resided in Stettin, and Phillip I, who resided in Wolgast. The border ran roughly
along the Oder and Swine rivers,
with Pomerania-Wolgast now consisting of Hither or Western
Pomerania (Vorpommern, yet without Stettin and Gartz
(Oder) on the Oder river's left bank, and with Greifenberg on its
right bank), and Pomerania-Stettin consisting of Farther
Pomerania. The secular possessions of the Diocese of Cammin around Kolberg (Kolobrzeg) subsequently came controlled by
the dukes, when members of the ducal family were made titular
bishops of Cammin since 1556.[2][3]

Despite the division, the duchy maintained one central
government.[17]

In 1569, Pomerania-Barth (consisting of the area around Barth, Damgarten and Richtenberg) was split
off Pomerania-Wolgast to satisfy Bogislaw XIII. In the
same year, Pomerania-Rügenwalde (consisting of the areas around Rügenwalde and Bütow) was split off Pomerania-Stettin to satisfy
Barnim XII.[6]
Though the partitions were named similar to the earlier ones, their
territory differed significantly.

In contrast to the partition of 1532, it was agreed that two
governments were maintained in Wolgast and Stettin.[17]
Decisions of war and peace were to be made only by a common Landtag.[18]

Also in 1571, a trade war between the towns Frankfurt
(Oder) (Brandenburg) and Stettin (Pomerania), ongoing since 1560,
was settled in favour of Brandenburg.[17]
The struggle within the Upper Saxon Circle however went on. The
Pomeranian dukes Johann Friedrich
and Ernst Ludwig refused to
pay their taxes to the circle's treasury (Kreiskasten in
Leipzig) properly, and in
the rare cases they did, they marked it as a voluntary act.[19]
Furthermore, the dukes ratified the circle's decrees only with
caveats that made it possible for them to withdraw at any time.[19]
The Pomeranian dukes justified their actions with events of 1563,
when an army led by Eric of Brunswick crossed
and devastated their duchy, and the circle did not give them
support.[19]
On the other hand, the Pomeranian refusal to properly integrate in
the circle's structure likewise reduced the circle's ability to act
as a unified military power.[19]

The partitioned duchy underwent an economical recession in the
late 16th century.[20]
The dukes' ability to control the inner affairs of the duchy
severely declined in the cource of the 16th century.[20]
As the central power was weakened by the partitions and
increasingly indebted, the independence of nobles and towns
rose.[20]
Attempts of duke Johann Friedrich to strengthen the ducal position,
eg by introducing a general tax, failed due to the resistance of
the nobility, who had gained the right to veto ducal tax decrees at
the circle's convent.[20]
In 1594-1597, the duchy participated in the Ottoman Wars.[18]
Yet, due to the rejection of financial support by the nobility, the
Pomeranian dukes' funds for the campaign were low, resulting in
their humiliation during the war for fighting with bad horses and
weapons.[18]
The 1637 death of the last Griffin duke Bogislaw XIV and the
1648 Peace of Westphalia marked the end
of the duchy. Farther Pomerania came to Brandenburg and Hither
or Western
Pomerania to Sweden, both later made up the PrussianProvince of Pomerania.

Western Pomerania north of the Peene river
(Neuvorpommern) remained a dominion of the SwedishCrown from 1648
until 1815.

Free farmers become
serfs of the nobility

Throughout the High and Late Middle Ages, the rural population
of Pomerania was dominated by free farmers working on their own,
small, hereditary farms. Although the situation had worsened
already before the war, the Thirty Years' War devastation marked
a changing point, that was manifested by legal changes and the
devastations of the wars yet to come.[11]

Most free farmers who survived the war were stripped of their
livestock and had repeatedly lost their crops. Thus, they had to
raise their income from service at the estates of the nobles. In Swedish
Pomerania, the legal environment was changed by new regularies
(Bauernordnung) in 1647 and 1670. Farmers were now forced
by their economic situation as well as the law to serve at the
noble estates. The amount of service that had to be done varied,
reaching a peak at 75% of a farmer's workforce. Farmers were tied
by law to their home village and thus were not free to leave. This
kind of serfdom is described by the German term Leibeigenschaft. At the same time, the
noble landowners enjoyed the benefits of financial aid programs,
and expanded their estates.[11]

A small farmer, however, could free himself from the service by
a monetary payment, if his economical standing allowed him to do
so. This minority had a considerably better social standing and
were personally free.[11]

In 1658, Brandenburg-Prussia left the coalition with Sweden and
instead allied with the Commonwealth and the Holy Roman
Empire.[23]

In 1659, imperial forces led by general de Souches invaded Swedish
Pomerania, took and burned Greifenhagen, took Wollin island and Damm, besieged Stettin and Greifswald without
success, but took Demmin on
November 9. Counterattacks were mounted by general Müller von der
Lühnen, who lifted the siege laid on Greifswald by the
Brandenburgian prince elector, and major general Paul Wirtz, who from
besieged Stettin managed to capture the Brandenburgian ammunition
depot at Curau and took it to Stralsund. The
Brandenburgians withdrew ravaging the countryside while
retreating.[22]

Swedish
Pomerania was occupied by Denmark and Brandenburg from 1675–1679, whereby
Denmark claimed Rügen and
Brandenburg the rest of Pomerania. Sweden reestablished control after
the Peace of
Saint-Germain-en-Laye on June 28, 1679. The strip of land on
the east side of the Oder, except for Gollnow and Altdamm,
was given to Brandenburg. Gollnow and Altdamm were held by
Brandenburg as a pawn in exchange for reparations, until these were
paid in 1693.[25
]

Great
Northern War

The first years of the Great Northern War did not affect
Pomerania. In 1713, Holstein and Prussian diplomats held talks about Swedish
Pomerania, aiming at Prussian occupation of the southern parts
and in turn guaranteeing neutrality of this territory. An according
treaty was signed on June 22, 1713, by Holstein, Prussia and the Swedish Empire.
Only Stettin commander Meyerfeldt refused to
hand over the towns without receiving direct order of Swedish king
Charles XII. Stettin was
subsequently besieged by Russian and Saxon forces led by prince Aleksandr Danilovich
Menshikov, and surrendered on September 29. According to the
Treaty of Schwedt on October 6, Menshikov was paid his war costs by
Prussia, and Stettin was occupied by Holstein and Brandenburg
troops.[12]

On November 22, 1714, King Charles XII of Sweden returned from
Turkey to lead the Swedish
defense in Pomerania in person. In turn, Holstein's forces in
Stettin were arrested as a Swedish ally by Prussia. On February
1715, Charles seized Wolgast
in an advance to reestablish Swedish control in Western
Pomerania.[12]

On May 1, 1715, Prussia
officially declared war on Sweden. In the same month, Hanover and Denmark joined the Russian-Prussian treaty of
1714. The allied forces subsequently occupied all of Pomerania
except for Stralsund. In
the Battle of
Stralsund Charles XII of Sweden led the defense until December
22, 1715, when he evacuated to Lund.[12]

After the Battle of Stralsund, Danish forces seized Rügen and Western
Pomerania north of the Peene
River (the former Danish Principality of Rugia that later
would become known as Neuvorpommern), while the Western
Pomeranian areas south of the river (later termed
Altvorpommern) were taken by Prussia, who had managed to
get France to confirm her
gains. Charles, who was not willing to cede any part of Swedish
Pomerania, was shot on December 11, 1718. His successor, Ulrike Eleonora of Sweden, entered
negotiations in 1719. By the Treaty of Frederiksborg, June
3, 1720, Denmark was obliged to hand back control over the occupied
territory to Sweden, but in the Treaty of
Stockholm, on January 21 in the same year, Prussia had been
allowed to retain its conquest, including Stettin. By this, Sweden
ceded the parts east of the Oder
River that had been won in 1648 as well as Western Pomerania south
of the Peene and the islands of Wolin and Usedom to Brandenburg-Prussia in turn for a 2
million Taler payment.[12]

Seven Years'
War

In September 1757, Swedish troops crossed the Peene river, which at this time
marked the Swedish-Prussian
border. The Swedes took Demmin, Usedom and Wollin, but were forced back by Prussian
general Hans
von Lehwaldt, who then turned to Swedish Stralsund. Yet, no significant fighting took
place throughout the years 1757 to 1759, although the population
had to endure garrison and pay war contributions.[31]

After the Battle of Zorndorf in 1759, Russian troops
made their way into Pomerania and laid a siege on Kolberg.
When Kolberg withstood, the Russian troops ravaged Farther
Pomerania. Sweden and Russia invaded Brandenburgian Pomerania
throughout the years 1760 and 1761. Kolberg was again made a
target, withstood a second siege, but not the third one in 1761. In the
winter of the same year, the Russian troops made Farther Pomerania
their winter refuge. In 1762, Prussia made peace with Sweden and
Russia.[32]

Brandenburgian Pomerania was left ravaged and the civilian death
toll amounted to 72,000.[33]

Rebuilding
and Inner Colonisation of Prussian Pomerania

After the great losses of the previous wars, Prussia began
rebuilding and resettling her
war-torn province in 1718. Programs were made allowing
financial aid to rebuild houses, e.g. people were paid 23% of a
house's cost if they build it with fire-proof material, and vacant
residential areas were let for free to those willing to erect
buildings, also there were cases where those building a house were
granted free citizenship, were freed of garrison duties, or were
given the necessary timber for free. Also, public buildings were
renewed or build new by the Prussian administration.[34]

Swamps in the Randowbruch and Uckermark regions were drained and settled
with colonists from the Netherlands since 1718. In 1734, a part of
this region became therefore known as "Royal Holland". Dutch
colonists were also settled in other parts of Pomerania. Also, Protestants from the CatholicSalzburg region arrived Prussia via the
Pomeranian ports. While most went on to settle in other parts of
Prussia, some settled in Pomerania.[34]

To improve access to the port of Stettin, the Swine river was
deepened and Swinemünde was founded on the river's mouth
in 1748. A similar project in Stolp failed due to monetary shortage.[35
]

Throughout the 1750s, the vast Oderbruch swamps were drained to acquire
farmland.[35
]

Prussian king Frederick the Great appointed Franz
Balthasar von Brenckenhoff to rebuild the war-torn Prussian share
of Pomerania. Before the Seven Years' War, the Inner
Colonisation of Farther Pomerania was started already
by prince Moritz of
Anhalt-Dessau. Brenckenhoff, after providing some humanitarian
aid in 1763 (especially horses and wheat from the military and
money for seed and life stock), introduced programs for financial
aid, tax reduction, and low-rate credits and thus managed to have
most of the destroyed farms rebuild in 1764.[33][36]

In the following years, new farmland was made available by
clearing woodlands and draining swamps (e.g. Thurbruch, Plönebruch,
Schmolsiner Bruch) and lakes (e.g. Madüsee, Neustettiner See)
as well as levee construction at some rivers (e.g. Ihna, Leba).[33]

To compensate for the wartime population losses, new colonists
were attracted. In the 1740s, colonists were invited from the Palatinate, Würtemberg, Mecklenburg, and Bohemia. Most came from the Palatinate, while
the Bohemians soon returned to their homeland due to housing
shortages. In 1750, recruitment of settlers started in Danzig, Elbing, Warsaw, Augsburg, Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg, Hamburg, and Brussels. Protestant craftsmen from Roman Catholic Poland settled in the towns.
The colonists were freed of certain taxes and services such as
military service. Between 1740 and 1784, 26,000 colonists arrived
in Prussian Pomerania, and 159 new villages were founded. Most
colonists originated in the Palatinate, Mecklenburg, and Poland.[37]

However, Frederick looked upon many of his new citizens with
scorn. He had nothing but contempt for the szlachta, the numerous Polish nobility,
and wrote that Poland had "the worst government in Europe with the
exception of Turkey".[39]
He considered West Prussia as uncivilized as Colonial Canada[40]
and compared the Poles to the Iroquois.[39]
In a letter to his brother Henry, Frederick wrote about
the province that "it is a very good and advantageous acquisition,
both from a financial and a political point of view. In order to
excite less jealousy I tell everyone that on my travels I have seen
just sand, pine trees, heath land and Jews. Despite that there is a
lot of work to be done; there is no order, and no planning and the
towns are in a lamentable condition."[41]
Frederick invited German immigrants to redevelop the province,[38]
also hoping they would displace the Poles.[42] Many
German officials also regarded the Poles with contempt.[40]

In the Second Partition of Poland
in 1793, the Hanseatic city of Danzig, no longer
able to rely on its own strength, opted together with the Hanseatic
city of Thorn to join the Kingdom of Prussia and thus West Prussia.
Some of the areas of Greater Poland annexed in 1772 that
formed the Netze
District were added to West Prussia in 1793 as well.